Troubled: Fernando Torres has endured a tough time at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

Fernando Torres’ poor form since joining Chelsea stems from the fact his £50million move from Liverpool was ‘badly managed’, claims current Blues player Yossi Benayoun.

The Israeli, who is back at Stamford Bridge after spending the first half of this season on loan to West Ham, has hit out at his employers for the way they treated Torres following his headline-grabbing January 2011 transfer – which Benayoun believes sapped the Spaniard’s confidence.

‘He had a bad time in the beginning at Chelsea. When he came in, he was on the bench, then on the pitch,’ said Benayoun.

‘He did not get the confidence when he came in, and with £50m above his head it is not easy for any player. The situation from the beginning was badly managed with him.’

As well as their time together at Chelsea, Benayoun and Torres shared a dressing room at Anfield too – and the 32-year-old waxed lyrical about his 28-year-old team-mate’s talent, which appears to have deserted him since his move to west London.

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‘You can understand it is not easy – [he went] from being the top striker at Liverpool and unbelievable – you gave him the ball and you knew he would score,’ Benayoun continued.

Having scored 65 goals in just 102 league matches for the Reds, Torres has since become a figure of fun for opposition fans – who take great pleasure in mocking his seeming inability to find the net in a blue shirt.

Nevertheless, there are suggestions he is close to rediscovering his best form. This season Torres has 15 goals for Chelsea in all competitions – eclipsing the mere 10 goals he had scored in 18 months prior to the 2012/13 campaign.

‘For me, he is still one of the best strikers in the world,’ added Benayoun. ‘He just needs to believe in himself. It would be good to get his confidence back and be his old self. Hopefully he will get a few more [goals] soon and you will see the real Fernando Torres.’